The status bar is a standard Windows control, and as such, displays the font in the clBtnText value, which is set via the Control Panel. This color is black by default, but it can vary due to the user's color scheme. Other standard Windows controls, such as buttons, exhibit this identical behavior. The StatusBar and its associated panels have an owner-draw capability that allow you to draw text in colors you want. Example:

procedure TForm .StatusBar DrawPanel(StatusBar: TStatusBar;
  Panel: TStatusPanel; const Rect: TRect);
begin
  if Panel = StatusBar.Panels[0] then begin
    StatusBar.Canvas.Font.Color := clRed;
    StatusBar.Canvas.TextOut(Rect.Left, Rect.Top, 'Panel - 0')
  end else begin
    StatusBar.Canvas.Font.Color := clGreen;
    StatusBar.Canvas.TextOut(Rect.Left, Rect.Top, 'Panel -  ');
  end;
end;